Byrd Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> The "rachef/raufu" concept is touted by someone
> who has proclaimed himself the greatest living
> etymologist of semitic languages ... in spite of
> the fact that he speaks English only and is not
> able to read either hieroglyphs, cuneiform, or
> Hebrew script.

While it may be the case of Creighton not being the best, in the case of Khafre's name, it may not be wrong. See

Ranke, H. 1950. The Egyptian Pronunciation of the Royal Name 'Khefren' and its Cognates. JAOS 70: 65-68.

AEB Summary:

The name was pronounced ra-xaj.f, and the reading xaw.f-ra, which was probably the source of the Greek rendering Xefrhn, was the result of a misunderstanding on the part of later generations, to whom the original meaning ("It is Re who rises"), as well as the pronunciation of this name had been lost.

Gardiner agrees (2005(1957): 74, n. 0) that the name was most likely /ra-xa.f/. It appears to be an exception to the practice of theophanic/honoric transposition in names (on this see, Allen 2000: 4.15)

Reference:

Allen, J. P. 2000. Middle Egyptian: An Introduction to the Language and Culture of Hieroglyphs. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Gardiner, A. H. 2005 (1957). Egyptian Grammar: Being an Introduction to the Study of Hieroglyphs. Oxford: Griffith Institute.

HTH.

Katherine Griffis-Greenberg

Doctoral Candidate
Oriental Institute
Doctoral Programme in Oriental Studies [Egyptology]
Oxford University
Oxford, United Kingdom